Fact Check: John Carpenter’s Alleged Online Movie Reviews – Filmmaker Denies Connection to Viral Posts

Recently, rumors emerged on social media suggesting that John Carpenter was writing reviews of his own films. A now-deleted account praised his iconic works such as Halloween and The Thing. Notably, these reviews were shared on Letterboxd, a social platform dedicated to film discussion.

Many were left questioning whether it was indeed the legendary filmmaker penning these reviews, particularly after a post about his film Memoirs of an Invisible Man led numerous fans to believe John had authored it. This now-deleted post stated:

“They paid me more money than I had ever seen to write a sequel to a film that did not need one. I took the check and spent it on beers to get me drunk enough to plow through this crap. I looked at the final script, which took a whopping 2 days to write, and said ‘Wow, now that’s a piece of sh*t.’”

The review went on:

“And it was. I had faith in Rick Rosenthal, and he did not deliver. I suppose I expected him to be a miracle worker, and nobody could’ve made this work. I don’t regret hiring him.”

As the news spread about John Carpenter supposedly writing his own reviews, the filmmaker took to his X account to clarify:

“What the hell is a Letterboxd!??”

Clearly, Carpenter was unaware of the Letterboxd platform, which confirms that he did not write or review his own movies. Instead, an anonymous individual masqueraded as him, deceiving the public.

Fake News Debunked: John Carpenter Did Not Review His Own Movies

Carpenter’s X post garnered over 2 million views within a single day, where he emphasized that he had not authored the Letterboxd posts and that false claims were circulating. Furthermore, after John’s clarification, many users referenced his 2023 Variety interview, in which he explicitly stated that he does not “evaluate”his own work. John Carpenter remarked:

“I don’t evaluate myself. I really think I did a great job with The Thing. I would love to have made more serious films like that, that aren’t teenage movies and not geared to young people. That was a movie I’m proud of. I don’t know what my strength is. I have no clue.”

Born in 1948, the 76-year-old filmmaker and actor has directed numerous celebrated films, including Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), Escape From New York (1981), and Starman (1984). Other notable films by Carpenter include Dark Star, The Thing, Escape from L.A., and They Live.

Among his extensive filmography, Carpenter is best recognized for the Halloween franchise, which includes additional releases like Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021), and Halloween Ends (2022).

The original movies and their franchises have accumulated numerous accolades and nominations, including awards from the ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, Indiana Film Journalists Association Award, Hollywood Music in Media Awards, and the Online Film & TV Association Awards.

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